A Proud Man Steps Down

Yesterday Martin Johnson resigned as manager of the England rugby union team. There is some debate about whether he was pushed or jumped and that will probably become clearer over the next few days as the report on England's disappointing World Cup campaign is revealed and digested.

As reported in The Times today he left with some aplomb, refusing to allocated blame and instead and typically shouldering responsibility alone. It was reported as a sad day, and indeed the loss of contributor such as Martin is sad, but I think the sad days happened sometime ago and unless we and the RFU learn then we will see more.

Some things are irrefutable. As a leader on the field he was magnificent. His work ethic, the execution of his role as enforcer and the inspiration he gave to players around him, young and old, have long been clear and recognised.

He learnt a lot of his craft in his early days in New Zealand, his leadership skills were recognised by Ian McGeechan on the Lions tour of 1997 and he spearheaded a triumphant team of World Cup winners in 2003. This is all alongside an illustrious career with Leicester.

When he joined as England manager the RFU was already in some disarray. He went about his role quietly, but earnestly. He kept faith with some worthy stalwarts and has found some exciting talent eg Courtney Laws, Ben Foden, Chris Ashtonto name but a few. Some of his selections have seemed a little strange, but that is true of any manager.

Another irrefutable fact and one much covered in the papers is that his team let him down in New Zealand this year. During matches they were on the field, not him, and needed to step up - few did. Off the the field he should not have needed to micromanage them. They are professional players, some very experienced who were on their greatest playing field so to speak and their behaviours while under that spotlight was at best adolescent. I have blogged about this before under the heading "the clueless and the stupid" and they certainly were.

Reports from yesterday left me with the impression of a man cut adrift. He striggled with a dysfunctional Infrastructure that would have been in intensive care anywhere else. I do have a little insight into some of the recent machinations and i would challenge anyone above Martin to be proud of their contribution).

Yesterday Rob Andrew gave no support and Martin Johnson gallantly refused to criticise. Rob's view on personal responsibility obviously differs from that of many. That is a sad observation for someone I such a responsible role.

I have seen a quote attributed to John Kotter that effective leadership is about outcomes not behaviours. By this measure Martin Johnson has come up short on his own expectation and that of others. That said rugby like business is a team sport and that team is much wider that the 15 players on the field or the 22 in the match day squad. It includes the support staff and surrounding structures.

Martin deserved more support than he has received from a dysfunctional union. He rightly expected more from his players. A team has to be prepared to be led. And management team have to support each other, through the good and the bad.

I sincerely hope that a good many others are reflecting on their lack of (or destructive) contribution to events and that they sleep a lot less comfortably than Martin Johnson does now.

I am sure he has been and will continue to ask himself what he could or should have done better, but I hope that self flagellation does not last long. Sometimes circumstances to not favour even the best. I sincerely hope he finds a happier place personally and professionally.

In the same vein I hope the RFU can be man enough to learn from this and that in the four years before we are World Cup hosts the whole demeanour improves and we do not disgrace ourselves again (and I am not talking about Martin!)

We can, but hope. Maybe England should change their permanent playing strip to grey or even black. Not as homage to New Zealand but to signify the fall from grace. Let's see the white return when they deserve it.

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